Latest / Karl and Crew / Honoring Veterans & 7 Years as an Al-Qaida Hostage with Jeff Woodke & Operation Christmas Child with Zac Vakadewatabua

Transcript

Honoring Veterans & 7 Years as an Al-Qaida Hostage with Jeff Woodke & Operation Christmas Child with Zac Vakadewatabua · Karl and Crew

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  S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond its curling crew.
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  S1: Come as you are an experienced guide, overcome what seems
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  S1: impossible and live. As you never imagined delivering the truth daily.
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  S2: If it were possible to have every worldly gain available
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  S2: and you're forfeiting your soul, there's no amount of gain
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  S2: that would make it worth it.
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  S3: Our own way never ever works. Because it's apart from
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  S3: the life source, which is God.
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  S4: For me, growing up, love was always conditional and can
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  S4: be taken from you. Christ's love can't. And he went
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  S4: to the cross with my mind and my heart that night.
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  S1: Now from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl
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  S1: and Crew.
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  S5: Is it okay for us to continue on this Christmas theme?
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  S3: Uh, it's November, so yes, all things go. When it
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  S3: comes to Christmas.
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  S2: Christmas wish. Have you heard about it? We just started
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  S2: talking about it yesterday. I want to make sure that
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  S2: you have the opportunity to grant a wish this Christmas.
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  S2: There's something really, really nice when the old saying of that,
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  S2: it's more blessed to give than to receive.
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  S3: Mhm.
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  S2: When you have gotten something for someone. Yes. I'm not
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  S2: a I wouldn't say that like I'm a great gift giver. I,
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  S2: I try to give gifts, but like, I'm usually scrambling.
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  S3: Okay. For ideas.
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  S2: For ideas, particularly for the people in my life who,
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  S2: who don't like need much.
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  S3: Sure. I get.
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  S2: That. So I'm like, ah, do I give them a,
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  S2: you know, do I give them a coffee mug? Do
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  S2: I give them a Starbucks gift card? Do I, you know?
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  S2: But when you nail a gift, when you are like
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  S2: this gift, I can't wait to. Have you ever.
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  S3: Had nothing better than.
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  S2: They've ever given one of those gifts that you're like,
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  S2: I can't wait to give this one.
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  S3: Yes, me and my wife basically say this to each
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  S3: other on like, all of our birthdays, every single year
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  S3: we go, oh, I can't wait for your birthday this year. Oh,
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  S3: you're going to be so excited. So we do that
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  S3: to each other because it is just so fun to
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  S3: give each other gifts. When you feel like you've nailed it.
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  S2: When you feel like you've nailed it and it's been like,
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  S2: I know that they, they don't realize that I remember
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  S2: that they said that they loved this thing. And I
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  S2: made a note of it. Super di is amazing at this.
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  S3: Oh my goodness, she'll hold on to something that you
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  S3: said two years ago.
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  S2: I know.
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  S3: To give you the perfect gift this.
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  S2: Year.
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  S3: It's incredible.
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  S2: You know, I'd say the last gift that I felt
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  S2: that I really, really felt excited to give my sister,
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  S2: she is a super proud dog owner. So she has
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  S2: this little Chihuahua who is he's getting up there. I mean, he's,
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  S2: I'd say 17 or 18.
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  S3: Sure. That's up there. Her dog is.
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  S2: So Chihuahuas as a breed are are quirky. Yes, they
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  S2: really are. And he is Mr. Cork. I mean, his
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  S2: name is Jack. And Jack has just a very, very
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  S2: interesting personality. And so he's he Chihuahuas tend to gravitate
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  S2: toward one person and one person only. Okay. So they're
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  S2: very protective. Sure. So he gets really protective of her
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  S2: and his little Chihuahua self. You know, he.
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  S3: He gets his little Chihuahua.
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  S2: Shakes if he.
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  S3: Gets too close.
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  S2: In his mind, he's a Great Dane.
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  S3: Yeah, yeah.
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  S2: So I got her for her birthday. Um, this cool
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  S2: retro concert T.
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  S3: Okay.
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  S2: With his picture on it. And his picture is huge.
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  S2: And it's like, it looks like a concert t but
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  S2: and and she was so delighted. And she wears the
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  S2: shirt with such great, proud pride to show off her
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  S2: little Chichi. If you have a Chihuahua, I'd love to
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  S2: hear from you. Is it? Are all of them as quirky? And, um,
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  S2: it's like they need their own emotional support animal sometimes.
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  S3: Yes they do. Absolutely.
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  S2: But I digress. There's something really fun about being able
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  S2: to give a gift that you know, is really, really
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  S2: going to mean something to someone. And so we want
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  S2: to help you do that. This Christmas season, we're going
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  S2: to be granting five wishes. So I want you to
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  S2: dream up something that you would love to be able
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  S2: to do for someone in your life. Could be a
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  S2: friend from church, could be a neighbor. We heard from
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  S2: someone yesterday who had someone in mind who they really,
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  S2: really needed an appliance. I'll leave it, general, in case
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  S2: this ends up being one that gets that wins. They
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  S2: needed an appliance or something in their house fixed. It
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  S2: had been broken for some time, and so they were
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  S2: having to do some really inconvenient workarounds and like, man,
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  S2: if I could just get this fixed for this person,
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  S2: it would really, really bless them. So that's what we're
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  S2: thinking of. Maybe you want to make some sort of
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  S2: memory for a family, a special thing that concert tickets
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  S2: for them to go to and celebrate. Maybe you want
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  S2: to send someone on a little trip, a little staycation
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  S2: or a vacation. There's a $2,000 limit on this, so there's,
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  S2: there's some room to really dream here. So if you
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  S2: have a Christmas wish that you would love to grant
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  S2: for someone else in your life, tell us about it.
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  S2: Tell us the story, submit it, just text wish to
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  S2: 805 557898. That one word wish to 805 557898. Click
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  S2: on the link. You'll get all the details. Read it
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  S2: through what's excluded. We can't pay anyone's rent. We can't
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  S2: pay off a debt. But there are many, many ideas
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  S2: that you can come up with.
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  S1: Breaking chains and running free. You're listening to Carl and Crew.
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  S2: Well, on this Veterans Day, I really want to hear
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  S2: from you. If you're a veteran, you've served in any
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  S2: capacity in the military. How have you seen God's hand
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  S2: at work in that? Could have been during your time
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  S2: of service, could have been as you were readjusting. How
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  S2: have you seen the hand of God at work during
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  S2: your time of service. 805 5578, 98, 805 five, five, 78, 98.
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  S2: Let's go to Gary. First time caller calling in from
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  S2: Johnson City, Tennessee. Gary, tell me, how have you seen
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  S2: God's hand at work during your service?
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  S6: Uh, yes. Thanks for taking my call. Uh, well, first,
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  S6: I served in the Navy Naval Security Group from October
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  S6: 1963 to May of 67. I guess the first blessing,
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  S6: I was actually going to go in the Army, but
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  S6: I went to the recruiting station where all the officers were.
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  S6: And the Army recruiter, whom I knew was not in.
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  S6: So I just went on back to the Navy. So
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  S6: that was a blessing because this was during the height
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  S6: of the Vietnam War, was heating up. But anyway, I
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  S6: went to San Diego for my boot camp and I
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  S6: learned about the navigator ministry there. And, uh, then I
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  S6: was stationed in The Pensacola for Florida for a school
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  S6: and met another Navy guy that, uh, near the Navy ministry.
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  S6: And we did some Bible studies together. Then I was
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  S6: sent to Japan for my, uh, actual duty near Yokohama
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  S6: area over there. And, uh, about a month later, uh,
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  S6: I'd gone to chapel one Sunday and met, uh, a
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  S6: guy that became one of my best friends. And he said, hey,
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  S6: did you know the navigators have a they run a
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  S6: Christian service center in Yokosuka, Japan. So. So I got
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  S6: plugged into the navigator ministry and we ministered to the,
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  S6: our fellow um, shipmates and saw many guys come to
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  S6: know the Lord. And in fact, in May of 67,
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  S6: I separated and stayed an extra year working with the
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  S6: navigator ministry there through the Christian Service Center. So it's
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  S6: just like the Lord was keeping me in touch with
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  S6: the navigator ministry at each place where I was stationed.
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  S2: Mhm. Gary, thank you so much. First time caller from
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  S2: Johnson City, Tennessee. Thank you for your service. And thank
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  S2: you for sharing your story with us this morning. If
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  S2: you are a veteran, would you tell us your story?
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  S2: How have you seen God's hand at work during your
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  S2: time of service? 800 555 7898 let's hear from you
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  S2: this morning.
• 8:11
  S1: Get to know the team behind the scenes. Follow Carl
• 8:14
  S1: and crew on Facebook and Instagram.
• 8:17
  S2: Honoring our veterans today. Dave from Huntley, Illinois. Dave, tell us,
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  S2: how have you seen God's hand at work during your
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  S2: time of service?
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  S7: When I was in Vietnam, I was in the infantry.
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  S7: We were out in the bush on my helmet. I
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  S7: had written God is my point man and had the
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  S7: 23rd Psalms written on my helmet. Uh. Now I was drafted,
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  S7: so we didn't get a whole lot of training before
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  S7: they sent us to Vietnam. And I did not do
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  S7: well in math class. Uh, walking point needed to read
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  S7: a map. I still couldn't read it, but we were
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  S7: never lost and God was with us the whole time.
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  S7: There were many instances where if he wasn't there, I
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  S7: wouldn't be here.
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  S2: Yeah. Dave, thank you so much. I appreciate your call
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  S2: this morning and thank you so much for your service.
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  S2: What about you? If you're a veteran, I would love
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  S2: to hear from you this morning. And don't you say
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  S2: for a second, I don't know if I've got a
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  S2: story worth telling. You do? How have you seen God's
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  S2: hand at work during your time in the military? 805, 55, 78, 98.
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  S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 9:23
  S2: And the goodness of God can be seen even through
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  S2: difficult times, through trials, asking you to reflect this morning,
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  S2: on this Veterans Day, if you are a veteran, if
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  S2: you have served in any capacity asking you how have
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  S2: you seen God's hand at work during your time in
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  S2: the military? 805, 55, 78, 98. Want to go to
• 9:44
  S2: Russ calling in this morning from Elmhurst, Illinois. Russ, how
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  S2: have you seen God's hand at work?
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  S8: Well, when I was in Vietnam, I was an infantry
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  S8: platoon sergeant doing search and destroy. And at night we
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  S8: would go out on ambushes, and I was out with
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  S8: nine men on ambush. We had. We were set up
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  S8: along a thicket with a big open field across from us.
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  S8: About 10:00 at night we heard some noise. I turned
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  S8: on my starlight scope, and it was covered with Viet Cong.
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  S8: I called in the 81mm mortars and had a ring
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  S8: of mortars dropped around me from 10:00 at night till
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  S8: 6:00 in the morning. And there was a lot of
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  S8: prayer went up that night, but I. The Lord preserved us.
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  S2: Russ, thank you so much for your service and thank
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  S2: you for calling in this morning from right here in Illinois.
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  S2: Let's go to Chris calling in West Palm Beach, Florida. Chris.
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  S2: Go ahead. How have you seen God's hand at work
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  S2: during your time in the military?
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  S9: Yes, I was in red force in the Air Force,
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  S9: just the engineers. And, uh, I saw Christians in Korea,
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  S9: in Japan, in, uh, England, Germany, and Egypt. And you,
• 11:02
  S9: you could see the difference between Christians who were Christians
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  S9: and people who were just going to church.
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  S2: Mhm.
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  S9: And that definitely drew me closer to Jesus.
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  S2: Wow. Chris. I love that observation. What's what what was
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  S2: the thing that stood out to you that that made
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  S2: you see that there was a difference between genuine faith
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  S2: in Christ and just doing the cultural Christianity thing?
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  S9: Yeah. You know, people would say, yeah, I'm, I'm a Christian.
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  S9: And then you would see the behaviors and, uh.
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  S2: Sure.
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  S9: And, uh, so what came out of his mouth wasn't
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  S9: exactly edifying.
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  S2: Yeah. The fruit. Right, Chris? Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much, Chris.
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  S2: Thank you for your service. West Palm Beach, Florida. Grateful
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  S2: for you. Jonathan. First time caller from Chicago. Jonathan, how
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  S2: have you seen God's hand at work during your time
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  S2: in the military?
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  S10: Uh, I had the privilege of serving in the Mideast, uh,
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  S10: in the 1980s. And I, uh, I read the Bible
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  S10: for the first time in my life. And I, uh,
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  S10: I read, uh, the Old Testament. And then I got
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  S10: to John 146 and Jesus says, I am the way,
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  S10: the truth, and the life. No man comes to the
• 12:30
  S10: father except through me. I read that, and I understood
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  S10: for the first time in my life that I needed Jesus.
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  S10: And I cried out to him that very moment. And, uh, I,
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  S10: I believed in Jesus.
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  S2: Wow. Jonathan. That's powerful. So John 146 Jesus said to him,
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  S2: I am the way and the truth and the life.
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  S2: No one comes to the father except through me. You'd
• 12:54
  S2: never read that before, huh?
• 12:56
  S10: I never had no.
• 12:57
  S2: Wow. Unbelievable. Thank you so much for your service. Thank
• 13:01
  S2: you for your call this morning.
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  S1: Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl
• 13:07
  S1: and crew.
• 13:09
  S2: I want to go back to Psalm 23 as we
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  S2: got a little short on time there, but I want
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  S2: to pick up where we left off. And, you know,
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  S2: if you're a parent, Jonathan, you've got now two little girls.
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  S3: I.
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  S2: Do. You're in the early stages of newborn hood and toddlerhood.
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  S3: Boy, I need Psalm 23.
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  S2: I want you to think about when you go on
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  S2: an outing with your little girls. Yeah. Take them to
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  S2: the park, maybe take them to a special museum or something. Sure.
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  S2: Your eyes are on your kids, right?
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  S3: Yeah. The whole time.
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  S2: As a parent, there are things that you do for
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  S2: your children that you only do for your children.
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  S3: Yeah, absolutely.
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  S2: And it's not that you don't care about the rest
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  S2: of the children in the world.
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  S3: Sure.
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  S2: But the ones that belong to you have your eye.
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  S2: I was listening to a podcast the other day, and
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  S2: it was one of the things they were talking about
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  S2: was common grace. And so to a certain degree, we
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  S2: all experience the common grace of God.
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  S3: Sure. Absolutely.
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  S2: We experience the sunshine.
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  S3: Mhm.
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  S2: We experience the rain that falls.
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  S3: The food that's provided for us. Yeah. The the money
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  S3: from a nice job.
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  S2: There's a common grace that is afforded to all of us.
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  S2: That God allows us to live in his created world
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  S2: and Experience. Yeah, there's hardship for sure, but he allows
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  S2: us to experience some really good things. That's true for everybody, yes.
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  S2: But when you look at Psalm 23, it starts with,
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  S2: the Lord is my shepherd. There's a belonging that has
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  S2: to happen if we want to experience the fullness of
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  S2: the grace of God, the fullness of the shepherding of God.
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  S2: That doesn't doesn't happen for every person just because they
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  S2: live on this planet. Yeah. Okay. And so we, we
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  S2: make this distinction a lot because it's a very common
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  S2: misconception that everyone's a child of God, that we all
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  S2: belong to him in the sense that he's all of
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  S2: our father. And it's just not true biblically. It's not
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  S2: until you turn to Jesus, repent, have your sins forgiven,
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  S2: and are made In right standing with God. That's when
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  S2: he becomes your father. That's when he becomes your shepherd,
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  S2: and that's when his eye is on you in a
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  S2: special way. You experience his special grace, his special provision,
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  S2: his care. In addition to all the other privileges that
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  S2: come along with being a child of God.
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  S3: Yeah, I think about that passage. John 844. Jesus is
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  S3: talking to some Pharisees and and, you know, they're they're
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  S3: harkening back to, well, Abraham is our father. We're all set.
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  S3: We're all good to go. And he says, you belong
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  S3: to your father, the devil. That is serious in terms
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  S3: of accusations. And it's accurate. Yeah. It's. If your father
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  S3: is not God, your father is the devil. Because we're
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  S3: born with our backs to God. And that's the reality
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  S3: that all of us have. And I think along that
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  S3: kind of parent analogy that you said, you know, I'd,
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  S3: I'd do things for my kids that I don't do
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  S3: for other kids. Yeah. You know, if it, if a
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  S3: kid just walked up to my house and he said,
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  S3: I'm ready for dinner. I'd probably be like, where are
• 16:43
  S3: your parents? Let's get you back home to your parents.
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  S2: Because you belong to someone.
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  S3: Because you belong to someone else. It's not me. And
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  S3: you take that and you, you, you apply it to
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  S3: the end. When we all go somewhere. Yeah. Walk up
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  S3: to Jesus and say, I'm ready for dinner. And he says,
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  S3: I'm not. I'm not yours. Let me get you back
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  S3: to who's yours. And that would be the devil. And
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  S3: that would be no good.
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  S2: A sobering thought. Yeah. And so I don't want to
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  S2: miss this opportunity. And it's, it's a, it's a simple thing,
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  S2: but it's vastly important. It's the most important thing in
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  S2: your life where you stand with God. There's nothing else
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  S2: that matters more. And so maybe you've heard about heaven
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  S2: and hell. Maybe you've wrestled with the guilt that you
• 17:36
  S2: feel sometimes when you know you've done something wrong. Did
• 17:39
  S2: you know that you can be made right with God?
• 17:43
  S2: You can be in right standing. You can stand in
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  S2: the righteousness of Jesus Christ because of what he did
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  S2: on the cross, and all the privileges that come with
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  S2: it are available to you, including being able to say, God,
• 17:56
  S2: you're my shepherd. Because of you I lack nothing. You
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  S2: lead me beside still waters. This is a comforting psalm.
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  S2: The words are beautiful. Psalm 23. But you don't own
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  S2: it until you belong to him.
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  S3: Very true.
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  S2: So I want to invite you today to Wednesday morning.
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  S2: Maybe you hadn't planned on doing this, but by the
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  S2: grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit,
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  S2: this is making sense to you. And you realize I
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  S2: don't belong to him. I'm not God's kid. And if
• 18:26
  S2: I'm not God's kid, that means I'm a child of
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  S2: the devil. I'm a belong to Satan. I don't say
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  S2: that to as as a fear tactic, but simply because
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  S2: that's what the Bible says is true. So how do
• 18:40
  S2: you become a child of God? It's not some special
• 18:43
  S2: club that you got to sign up and there's a
• 18:46
  S2: waiting list. And then he looks to see. Do you
• 18:49
  S2: meet the requirements? Are you have you lived a good
• 18:52
  S2: enough life to be called? It's actually the opposite. If
• 18:56
  S2: you are at a place where you say, I am
• 18:58
  S2: a sinner, I need a savior, I know that there's
• 19:01
  S2: nothing good in me, then you're actually perfectly positioned because
• 19:05
  S2: that's what it takes. It takes coming to the end
• 19:07
  S2: of anything that you have to offer, forsaking all of
• 19:10
  S2: that and saying it's you. I bring nothing to the table.
• 19:15
  S2: But myself, I just bring me broken, messed up, messy past,
• 19:22
  S2: checkered past. But God, would you make me one of
• 19:28
  S2: your kids? You confess that you're a sinner. You repent,
• 19:33
  S2: which means you do that 180 degree. Turn the direction
• 19:37
  S2: you're going in. Now turn. You're following him now. And
• 19:41
  S2: if that's you, have that honest conversation with God. There's
• 19:45
  S2: no magic set of words to say. No. No special
• 19:49
  S2: prayer to pray. But if the cry of your heart
• 19:52
  S2: this morning is, I acknowledge for the first time that
• 19:55
  S2: I am a sinner. There is nothing good in me
• 19:58
  S2: but God. I want to be one of your kids.
• 20:01
  S2: So I confess and repent. And today I say I
• 20:06
  S2: belong to you. Jonathan, would you pray? Whether it's maybe
• 20:09
  S2: it's just one person this morning, would you pray?
• 20:12
  S3: Absolutely. Father God, I lift up these people who are
• 20:20
  S3: about to be brothers and sisters in Christ because they
• 20:23
  S3: recognize their need for you. God, I'm going to pray
• 20:29
  S3: as if I'm going to lead the prayer as if
• 20:31
  S3: I am in that group right now and just follow
• 20:34
  S3: along with me. God, I recognize that I am not yours.
• 20:40
  S3: I want to be yours because I recognize that's the
• 20:43
  S3: most important thing in the universe. My sin keeps me
• 20:48
  S3: from you. I am a sinner and I have no
• 20:51
  S3: right to stand before you. But I believe in what
• 20:55
  S3: you've done in sending your son to live the life
• 21:00
  S3: I couldn't live and pay. The price I couldn't pay
• 21:02
  S3: through his death on the cross. I believe that he
• 21:05
  S3: was raised again from the dead. And I want to
• 21:09
  S3: follow you. I dedicate myself to you. I cast off
• 21:13
  S3: all other things and keep my eyes on you. Thank
• 21:18
  S3: you for welcoming me into your family. You promise? You have.
• 21:22
  S3: And I trust you for that. In Jesus name. Amen.
• 21:26
  S2: Amen. If that's you, I want you to text the
• 21:29
  S2: word new to 805 557898. Just one little word. NEW
• 21:36
  S2: text new to 805 557898. New to 805 557898. Just
• 21:46
  S2: got something we want to send you. It's going to
• 21:48
  S2: give you some practical next steps. Welcome to the family
• 21:51
  S2: of God.
• 21:52
  S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
• 21:55
  S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
• 22:00
  S1: curl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 22:02
  S11: Well, you hear these different stories about guys marooned at
• 22:07
  S11: sea for 28 days or 300 days and surviving. Who
• 22:12
  S11: knows what. Then you hear these stories of people that
• 22:15
  S11: are taking captive, in this case by al Qaeda, not friends.
• 22:22
  S11: Death must have felt certain, and he lived to tell
• 22:26
  S11: about it. Boy, have we got a guest with us today. Ali.
• 22:29
  S2: His name is Jeff Woodke. He's the author of a book,
• 22:32
  S2: All the Way Home The Incredible True Story of an
• 22:34
  S2: American Aid Workers Harrowing seven years as an al Qaeda hostage.
• 22:39
  S2: In 2016, he was taken hostage by terrorists linked to
• 22:42
  S2: al Qaeda and held for six and a half years
• 22:44
  S2: in northern Mali. Jeff, just tell us first, take us
• 22:49
  S2: back to that night in Niger when you were abducted.
• 22:52
  S2: What do you remember clearly most clearly about those first hours?
• 22:59
  S12: I remember every second of those first hours. Um, yeah.
• 23:03
  S12: I came home from the last day of kind of
• 23:06
  S12: a funeral celebration. Um, it was dark. It was at night.
• 23:11
  S12: There was no electricity. There were no lights, nothing. And
• 23:14
  S12: I went into my compound in a little town up
• 23:17
  S12: on the edge of the desert in Niger. And armed men,
• 23:23
  S12: I found out later they were al Qaeda. They they
• 23:26
  S12: attacked and they killed two soldiers that were guarding me
• 23:30
  S12: or shot one wounded, one killed the other, and they
• 23:34
  S12: killed my civilian night guard. And then they took me
• 23:37
  S12: off in their pickup after beating the stuffing out of
• 23:40
  S12: me with rifle butts and fists and heads and everything else.
• 23:43
  S12: And that was it.
• 23:45
  S11: So, Jeff, when did you understand and learn what their
• 23:50
  S11: motivation was? Why they grabbed you, what their intentions were
• 23:55
  S11: in this first few hours, it must have just been
• 23:59
  S11: head spinning. Obviously, you're getting brutalized. Beat up. When did
• 24:02
  S11: things calm down enough where you had a sense of
• 24:05
  S11: this is what their objective is? And what was it?
• 24:08
  S12: Um, yeah, it took a couple of days, actually, because
• 24:11
  S12: I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't
• 24:13
  S12: know if they would just take me off site to
• 24:16
  S12: kill me or do a video or whatever. I had
• 24:18
  S12: no clue. Um, initially I thought I was going to
• 24:21
  S12: be shot. That's why I ran. And then they started
• 24:24
  S12: with rifle butts. But two days later, I suppose. Two
• 24:29
  S12: nights later, I actually got to sleep. And it was
• 24:33
  S12: at that point in time that I figured that they
• 24:35
  S12: weren't looking to kill me directly. I still didn't know
• 24:38
  S12: what they wanted. I didn't find out what they wanted
• 24:40
  S12: for months.
• 24:41
  S11: Give us a little bit of a picture of what
• 24:45
  S11: they wanted, what their ultimate aim was for you. And
• 24:50
  S11: when did you know that this might be a longer
• 24:53
  S11: haul than a day or two, or a week, or
• 24:56
  S11: even a month?
• 24:57
  S12: Um, it took about a couple of months before I
• 25:01
  S12: realized that, yeah, this wasn't going to end anytime soon.
• 25:04
  S12: They had a lot of search drones out at one place,
• 25:07
  S12: and I had to be moved in the middle of
• 25:09
  S12: the night. And I asked the guy who was kind
• 25:12
  S12: of the leader of that team that moved me, how
• 25:14
  S12: are my negotiations? And he said, what negotiations? You know,
• 25:18
  S12: we haven't even started yet. And that was like two
• 25:21
  S12: months in. And I also knew that the US at
• 25:26
  S12: least said they didn't negotiate with terrorists, so I didn't
• 25:30
  S12: expect to get out. I really didn't at that point.
• 25:34
  S2: How did you survive? Just the the isolation, the fear,
• 25:38
  S2: the trauma of it all. How did you survive day
• 25:41
  S2: to day?
• 25:42
  S12: Um, yeah, it's kind of boring, actually, because you're just
• 25:45
  S12: sitting there under a tree at night. You're in chains.
• 25:49
  S11: There's. Man.
• 25:51
  S12: There's not much to do. Eventually I started writing books
• 25:54
  S12: in my head. Um, at first I would, like, do
• 25:58
  S12: math and do design things just to keep my mind active.
• 26:02
  S12: You have to keep your mind active. If they would
• 26:05
  S12: let me walk, I would. But I my leg was bad.
• 26:08
  S12: I couldn't do as much as I wanted physically and
• 26:12
  S12: also not hating it was a big deal. Just, you know,
• 26:17
  S12: the compulsion to give in to that anger and let
• 26:19
  S12: it turn into rage that would have killed me very quickly.
• 26:24
  S12: So you have to act in the opposite spirit.
• 26:28
  S2: What role did your faith play in this harrowing six
• 26:33
  S2: and a half years? You. I know that you had
• 26:36
  S2: worked as an aid worker, as a missionary in this
• 26:39
  S2: area of West Africa. How did your faith play out
• 26:44
  S2: during this time of uncertainty and terror?
• 26:48
  S12: Uh, play out is a good term. It was very
• 26:51
  S12: strong at first. Obviously going in, you figure God's going
• 26:54
  S12: to get you out, like in in a heartbeat and
• 26:57
  S12: you pray. I was praying like eight hours a day
• 27:00
  S12: over the years, faith, um, dwindled because it was kind
• 27:05
  S12: of connected in with hope. And once the hope was gone,
• 27:10
  S12: faith had a hard time hanging in there. But at
• 27:13
  S12: the very end, I realized I still loved my family.
• 27:17
  S12: I was praying for them, I tried not, I tried
• 27:19
  S12: to quit praying. I said, Where is God? I don't.
• 27:22
  S12: but I couldn't. And I realized I loved God. I
• 27:25
  S12: love my family. I was forgiving my captors, so I
• 27:28
  S12: loved them. So, um, love gave room for faith to
• 27:33
  S12: to remain. And love got me through.
• 27:36
  S11: What are the lessons you learned being held captive by
• 27:39
  S11: Al Qaeda over those years that you otherwise would maybe
• 27:44
  S11: never have learned that you want other people to know
• 27:48
  S11: for certain?
• 27:49
  S12: Um, judgment belongs to the Lord. We're not supposed to exclude.
• 27:54
  S12: We're not supposed to. Um. See, the terrorists are terribly xenophobic,
• 28:01
  S12: and they hated everyone. And unless you conformed exactly to
• 28:05
  S12: their vision of what life was supposed to and faith
• 28:09
  S12: was supposed to be about, then you were considered the enemy.
• 28:13
  S12: And I gave up at that point. Hating people and
• 28:17
  S12: judging people and wanting to exclude them. God loves everyone
• 28:22
  S12: and everyone has a chance for that love to be
• 28:25
  S12: in their lives.
• 28:27
  S11: I think everybody wants to know, how in the world
• 28:28
  S11: did you get free, brother? How did you get free?
• 28:31
  S12: Yeah. Freedom is something that you don't, you don't get
• 28:35
  S12: just because you walk out of being a hostage. Freedom
• 28:38
  S12: comes with time. It comes with healing. It comes with
• 28:40
  S12: an acceptance of the changes that you've gone through. Um,
• 28:45
  S12: I was negotiated out, I was ransomed. That's how that worked.
• 28:49
  S11: Did you forge any kind of a friendship with any
• 28:53
  S11: of your captors to the point where if you saw
• 28:56
  S11: them again, it might not be adversarial? Or was it
• 29:01
  S11: sheer adversity from beginning to end all those years?
• 29:04
  S12: Um, I don't, I, yeah, I didn't form friendships with anyone,
• 29:10
  S12: but I wouldn't have a problem sitting down with any
• 29:13
  S12: one of them and having a cup of tea or
• 29:15
  S12: a cup of coffee. Wow. Um, I'm to the point
• 29:18
  S12: in my forgiveness that I could do that right now. Uh,
• 29:22
  S12: there were people that tried to befriend me, but always
• 29:25
  S12: with the goal of converting me to Islam. So there
• 29:28
  S12: was never any real depth in relationship there. Yeah.
• 29:31
  S2: Jeff. After imagining freedom for so long, because I'm sure
• 29:36
  S2: at each passing day, you know, even as you lost hope,
• 29:39
  S2: the in your mind. I'm sure you thought about your family,
• 29:43
  S2: your kids, your grandkids, your wife, once you finally were
• 29:47
  S2: able to at least experience physical freedom. What was that
• 29:52
  S2: process of beginning to heal and have more holistic freedom?
• 29:58
  S2: What did that look like?
• 30:00
  S12: Um, yeah. Like I say, freedom doesn't just come when
• 30:03
  S12: you walk away from the terrorists. Freedom is something that
• 30:06
  S12: you have to learn. It's something you you have to cultivate. Uh,
• 30:12
  S12: and it was a healing process. It took I have
• 30:16
  S12: very bad PTSD. It's not as bad as it was
• 30:18
  S12: when I came out, though, and I was a completely
• 30:20
  S12: different person than when I'd gone in. And my family
• 30:23
  S12: were all different because they'd gone through a horrific experience themselves.
• 30:26
  S11: Yeah.
• 30:27
  S12: So there was this huge readjustment period that was not easy,
• 30:31
  S12: and I felt like I was a ghost, really, because
• 30:34
  S12: people would see, you know, my body and they'd kind
• 30:36
  S12: of put me back in that old box that I'd
• 30:39
  S12: been in for years, but I wasn't that person anymore.
• 30:42
  S11: Wow.
• 30:43
  S12: So it took a lot of time for people to
• 30:44
  S12: get used to me and for me to get used
• 30:46
  S12: to them.
• 30:48
  S11: This is a powerful time here, Jeff. Um, there's a
• 30:52
  S11: lot of you listening right now wondering how can we
• 30:55
  S11: get more to this story? And that's what we're overjoyed
• 30:58
  S11: to share with you. I think the lessons here are myriad, Ali,
• 31:02
  S11: and the sobriety behind it is something that's hard to describe,
• 31:05
  S11: isn't it?
• 31:06
  S2: Truly. The the book is called All the Way Home
• 31:09
  S2: The Incredible True Story of an American aid workers harrowing
• 31:12
  S2: seven years as an al Qaeda hostage. And before I
• 31:15
  S2: give you the link, I know that being a hostage
• 31:18
  S2: advocate is a big part of your story. Now, what
• 31:21
  S2: do you want people to know about hostages or about
• 31:24
  S2: people who are wrongfully detained that maybe we don't think about?
• 31:30
  S12: Yeah, they're being trafficked. And human trafficking in any form
• 31:33
  S12: is abhorrent. It's terrible. It's it's a bad thing. And
• 31:37
  S12: we need to put more of an effort into getting
• 31:39
  S12: those people free. Um, I think that oftentimes hostages and
• 31:45
  S12: illegally detained people are used as political pawns. And so
• 31:49
  S12: no one really thinks about getting actually getting them out
• 31:52
  S12: until there's a political incentive to do so. So I
• 31:56
  S12: think people don't realize that. And if there's more of
• 32:00
  S12: an outcry to get our hostages and others home, then
• 32:03
  S12: more would come home quicker.
• 32:06
  S2: The word to text is home to (800) 555-7898. If you
• 32:12
  S2: want more about our guest, Jeff Woodke. The book All
• 32:15
  S2: the way home. Just text home to 800 555 7898.
• 32:21
  S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
• 32:24
  S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
• 32:29
  S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
• 32:31
  S11: Operation Christmas Child. I think most people, when they hear
• 32:35
  S11: those words, they go, I know what you're talking about.
• 32:38
  S11: You're talking about a shoebox that looks like a gift.
• 32:41
  S2: Yeah, absolutely. That are sent and have brought so much
• 32:44
  S2: Christmas joy to children around the world. We have the
• 32:47
  S2: privilege of having a former recipient join us this morning. Zach,
• 32:52
  S2: I'm going to have to have you pronounce your last
• 32:54
  S2: name because I do not want to mess it up.
• 32:55
  S2: Give us your last name, Zach. Thank you so much.
• 33:00
  S2: Tell tell us what you remember about receiving one of
• 33:04
  S2: those gift boxes back when you were. How old?
• 33:07
  S13: I was nine years old.
• 33:08
  S2: Nine years old. Tell us what you remember.
• 33:10
  S13: Yes, it was a Monday afternoon. Uh, my mother was
• 33:14
  S13: in charge of our prayer. Prayer meeting. Prayer gathering for
• 33:18
  S13: our children's ministry in church. Uh. The day before that,
• 33:21
  S13: on Sunday, uh, there was an announcement made in our
• 33:24
  S13: church that all the children, they'll come back the next day.
• 33:27
  S13: On Monday afternoon, they will receive a surprise gift. But
• 33:31
  S13: there was a catch to that announcement. My mother said that, um,
• 33:34
  S13: I was going to be the last one because she
• 33:36
  S13: had invited children from my community to come receive this
• 33:40
  S13: surprise gift. So when I was in school that Monday morning,
• 33:44
  S13: I was just praying, God, please have one more because
• 33:48
  S13: I am going to be the last child. So I
• 33:52
  S13: came back home that Monday afternoon and, uh, my grandmother
• 33:55
  S13: was living with us at that time in Fiji. And, uh,
• 33:58
  S13: I told my grandma, please dress me up nicely. There's
• 34:00
  S13: something special, you know, happening this afternoon. So, uh, and
• 34:05
  S13: then we saw this big brown cartons from Samaritan's Purse
• 34:09
  S13: being brought in, and one by one, uh, children in
• 34:12
  S13: my community, you know, get their name called by my
• 34:14
  S13: mom and get to, uh, own brand new quality toys. Uh,
• 34:18
  S13: before that Monday afternoon, we were playing, you know, rugby
• 34:22
  S13: with Coca Cola bottles with rocks and sticks. Um, you know, uh,
• 34:26
  S13: we were just trying to be creative, trying to use time, um, uh,
• 34:31
  S13: you know, with our leisure time after after school. But
• 34:34
  S13: then Monday afternoon changed all of us. When we get
• 34:36
  S13: to own brand new quality toys, we celebrate Christmas and
• 34:40
  S13: birthdays in Fiji. But you know, those gifts and presents,
• 34:43
  S13: they're just financially out of reach. And, uh, praise God
• 34:46
  S13: to whoever. Pack one more box. My mother finally said
• 34:50
  S13: my name. I walk up to the front. At the
• 34:52
  S13: age of nine, I received my first and only Christmas gift. Uh.
• 34:57
  S13: Today I can still remember the smell of my Jesus
• 34:59
  S13: story coloring book that was packed in my shoebox, and
• 35:03
  S13: the seed that really touched my heart, that was packed
• 35:06
  S13: in my box was a yellow yo yo that was
• 35:09
  S13: packed inside my shoebox. And I've always called it the
• 35:12
  S13: seed of grace, because grace allowed one more box to
• 35:15
  S13: be sent all the way to the ends of the earth.
• 35:19
  S11: So Zach, our guest here and now you've come full circle.
• 35:22
  S11: Now you're a spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child, which is
• 35:26
  S11: a crazy story, but I want to linger on this
• 35:28
  S11: yo yo of Grace. How did that shoebox really impact
• 35:34
  S11: your life? And did it? Was it did God use
• 35:38
  S11: that in a way that changed the spiritual trajectory of Zach?
• 35:43
  S13: Absolutely. Um, I was, I was a Christian before, but
• 35:47
  S13: I never fully understood God's love in our culture. It's
• 35:51
  S13: very patriarchal. Back in the Pacific, uh, you know, men
• 35:55
  S13: leads and men don't show emotions and all of that. Um,
• 36:00
  S13: I know I was loved by my mom and by
• 36:02
  S13: my dad and my parents. They love each other, but
• 36:04
  S13: I never heard that word love being used at home.
• 36:07
  S13: You hear it in church generally spoken. But when that
• 36:11
  S13: Monday afternoon, when my mother gave me that box, and
• 36:13
  S13: when she told me that God loves me, as I mentioned,
• 36:17
  S13: I can touch that love. I saw that love. Um,
• 36:21
  S13: you know, Paul says in Romans five eight that God
• 36:24
  S13: demonstrates his love for us in this while we were
• 36:26
  S13: still sinners, Christ died for us. The shoebox we got. Um,
• 36:30
  S13: and that's what Assisi does, you know, demonstrate the salvation
• 36:34
  S13: of Christ that is freely given. Uh, since 1993, over
• 36:38
  S13: 244 million boxes being packed. None of us deserve brand
• 36:43
  S13: new quality toys. None of us deserve the grace that
• 36:46
  S13: God did through His Son, Jesus at the cross. Uh,
• 36:49
  S13: you and I, we all of our listeners, you know,
• 36:52
  S13: we're all sinners. Uh, Paul says in second Corinthians 521 that,
• 36:57
  S13: you know, Jesus, who had no sin, became sin for us.
• 37:00
  S13: It is his righteousness, not my righteousness.
• 37:02
  S14: Yes.
• 37:03
  S13: So whoever packed these boxes, all of us, all of
• 37:06
  S13: the listeners that have packed a box, You truly are
• 37:09
  S13: the hands and feet of Jesus fulfilling that somebody get
• 37:13
  S13: to touch and feel the love of Christ tangibly demonstrated.
• 37:16
  S13: So now when I pack my boxes, uh, it's very
• 37:19
  S13: personal to me because I know how it feels having nothing,
• 37:24
  S13: having nothing. And now, um, I get to give back
• 37:27
  S13: to the ministry that really changed the spiritual trajectory of
• 37:32
  S13: my life.
• 37:33
  S2: Operation Christian Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, a
• 37:37
  S2: simple shoebox gift as an opportunity to share the love
• 37:40
  S2: of Christ over 244 million. As Zach said, shoebox gifts
• 37:45
  S2: have been collected for kids in over 175 countries. What
• 37:51
  S2: would be your appeal to we? This is packing week
• 37:54
  S2: right now and next week is collection week. So you
• 37:56
  S2: still have a couple of more days. If you want
• 37:58
  S2: to get one of those shoeboxes packed, what would be
• 38:01
  S2: your appeal? Zach.
• 38:02
  S13: Um, I always want to leave people with my, you know,
• 38:05
  S13: heart verse in Malachi 316 for me. Um, it's remembrance, right? Uh,
• 38:11
  S13: Malachi says this, that the when those who fear the
• 38:14
  S13: Lord spoke with one another, the Lord listens. And a
• 38:17
  S13: book of remembrance being written before him concerning those who
• 38:21
  S13: fear his name. None of us, you know, many of
• 38:24
  S13: us that have been packing boxes. We've never met a
• 38:26
  S13: child that actually get impacted by what we're doing on
• 38:31
  S13: this side of the world. But Malachi said, when we
• 38:34
  S13: who fellowship, when we share with one another, when we
• 38:36
  S13: talk to one another, uh, the box that I receive
• 38:39
  S13: over 20 years ago, somebody was talking to me. Uh,
• 38:42
  S13: somebody loved me. Somebody chose me. Uh, and somebody pursued
• 38:46
  S13: that one more box. I am that one more.
• 38:49
  S14: Child.
• 38:50
  S13: That whoever packed that one more box. And from that
• 38:53
  S13: one more box. Uh, I am actually now pastoring in
• 38:56
  S13: Western Kansas.
• 38:57
  S11: Really?
• 38:58
  S13: Praise be to God by the impact of that shoe box.
• 39:01
  S13: And now our churches. Uh, our church packed boxes. And
• 39:06
  S13: we receive, um, shoebox. We are a drop off location.
• 39:09
  S13: So you can go on to our website. There are
• 39:12
  S13: over 5000 locations, uh, starting on the November 16th through
• 39:17
  S13: the 23rd. Uh, we'll be receiving shoeboxes, uh, in over
• 39:21
  S13: 5000 locations. So just remember, they're not just the box, uh,
• 39:25
  S13: that's a child. And please, please, please, um, pray, pray
• 39:29
  S13: for your shoebox. Pray for the child. They will receive
• 39:32
  S13: your shoebox because I, I believe the best gift that
• 39:36
  S13: I'm praying for, for that child to receive. Yes. It's
• 39:39
  S13: the boxes, uh, the items in the boxes. But to Jesus,
• 39:43
  S13: who they can give their life to, to be their
• 39:45
  S13: Lord and Savior.
• 39:46
  S11: Yeah. Good word man. Well, if you love Zach's story,
• 39:50
  S11: you're going to love this opportunity. Some of you are
• 39:52
  S11: well aware, but there is going to be a need
• 39:55
  S11: for you to take a look at what are the
• 39:57
  S11: parameters around this? What do I put in a box
• 40:00
  S11: like this? How can I be a part of it?
• 40:01
  S11: Allie's got all those details here.
• 40:03
  S2: Just text box make it very easy for you. The website,
• 40:06
  S2: the packing list, just text box to 805 557898. Just
• 40:12
  S2: that one word. Tempting to put the emoji in, but
• 40:15
  S2: don't because it'll keep you from getting the auto reply.
• 40:18
  S2: So just box box 800 555, 7898.
• 40:24
  S1: Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight.
• 40:28
  S1: Super Dai is in the crew. It's curl and crew
• 40:32
  S1: on Moody Radio.
• 40:33
  S2: Carl said something to me recently, my my dear co-host
• 40:38
  S2: Carl and I didn't know how to take it at first.
• 40:42
  S2: I'm going to tell you about it. He would. He
• 40:44
  S2: would be totally fine with this. But not too long ago,
• 40:48
  S2: I found myself and my family going through a season
• 40:52
  S2: of of real transition and not totally resolved yet. Some
• 40:58
  S2: of it's still in process, so I'll keep the details
• 41:01
  S2: kind of veiled, But Carl said with great excitement as
• 41:05
  S2: he heard the details of. Kind of some tough stuff,
• 41:08
  S2: and he said, this is so exciting. And he said,
• 41:13
  S2: what a great opportunity to trust, to see what God's
• 41:17
  S2: going to do. And I knew in my mind, yes,
• 41:21
  S2: that is 100% true. But Susie Larson, our guest right now,
• 41:25
  S2: in the moment, I wasn't sure whether to say thank you,
• 41:30
  S2: Brother Carl, for those words of absolute faith or to
• 41:34
  S2: give him a little shove and say, I don't want
• 41:36
  S2: to hear that right now. Did you just hear what
• 41:39
  S2: I said? I did.
• 41:40
  S15: I love it so much. If you're going to walk
• 41:42
  S15: with Carl, he's going to fan your flame. Ali. Absolutely.
• 41:46
  S15: It's like, you know, when you're Noah, my soul needs this.
• 41:48
  S15: And this is why we need people like that. But
• 41:50
  S15: you're right. It's so hard because to trust God means
• 41:53
  S15: you have an opportunity to trust him. You have a
• 41:55
  S15: need to trust him. So I know God's with you, Ali.
• 41:58
  S15: I know he's with you. And I can't wait to
• 42:01
  S15: hear how the this story turns out, but thank you
• 42:03
  S15: for having me today.
• 42:04
  S2: I so appreciate it. Suzy Larson, well-known radio talk show host.
• 42:07
  S2: She's an author. Her latest book, More Than You Can
• 42:10
  S2: Imagine what God does when you trust him more. What
• 42:13
  S2: does God do when we trust him more? And why
• 42:16
  S2: is it so hard for us to get to that more?
• 42:19
  S15: You know, because the enemy of our soul, we have
• 42:21
  S15: a real enemy. We've got a target on our back.
• 42:24
  S15: If we walk with Jesus and his goal is to
• 42:27
  S15: distract and derail us. I often say, if you're in Christ,
• 42:31
  S15: Christ is in you, which means the enemy cannot touch
• 42:33
  S15: your identity or your eternity. But what he can do
• 42:36
  S15: is steal your joy. He can destroy your fruit, and
• 42:39
  S15: he can rob you of your future reward. And he's
• 42:41
  S15: so threatened by those things that he will spend all
• 42:44
  S15: of your lifetime trying to do just that. So trusting
• 42:48
  S15: God changes the story. Trusting God not only honors God
• 42:52
  S15: because he's trustworthy, but it impacts your life, your story,
• 42:56
  S15: and how things turn out. It's you living like his
• 42:58
  S15: promises are true.
• 43:00
  S2: And certainly when it comes to trusting God, it's easier
• 43:05
  S2: in some areas than in others. That's right. It can
• 43:08
  S2: be easy sometimes to trust God for direction, for ourselves. God, what?
• 43:13
  S2: What career do you want me to have next? And
• 43:16
  S2: sometimes it can be harder to trust with, say, like
• 43:18
  S2: our our kids, how our kids are doing spiritually, or
• 43:21
  S2: the fears or anxieties we have around that those those
• 43:25
  S2: areas of trust that are harder to release. Is it
• 43:28
  S2: is it pride? Is it control? Is it just this
• 43:31
  S2: battle we have with the flesh?
• 43:33
  S15: It really is experience because as people are listening, they're
• 43:36
  S15: going to go, okay, I can trust him in that area,
• 43:38
  S15: not so much in that area. And it really often
• 43:40
  S15: connects to your history with God. Because if you have
• 43:44
  S15: areas where it's like, you know, I, I, I know
• 43:46
  S15: how to trust him there. It's because you've won some
• 43:48
  S15: victories there. Typically you look back over your shoulder and
• 43:51
  S15: you're like, you know, God and I together have overcome
• 43:54
  S15: some things. And so I've, I've seen his faithfulness in
• 43:57
  S15: this area of my life. So I do have some
• 44:00
  S15: spiritual muscle memory there. But then there are always spaces.
• 44:03
  S15: If you're walking intimately with God and you're honest about
• 44:06
  S15: your story, there are places and spaces where it's like, yeah,
• 44:09
  S15: not so easy in this place. Why? Well, because God,
• 44:12
  S15: maybe it's allowed me to suffer. He's allowed me to wait.
• 44:16
  S15: You know, it's been a long time since I've seen
• 44:18
  S15: a breakthrough in this area. And it is interesting how
• 44:21
  S15: we can compartmentalize our faith. But he's still the same God.
• 44:24
  S15: He's the same faithful God. So just as our brother
• 44:27
  S15: Carl said to you, this is so exciting. The honest
• 44:30
  S15: truth is, it really is. If we can reframe our
• 44:33
  S15: battles because we serve the same God, we seem to
• 44:36
  S15: serve the God of the breakthrough. And so whatever space
• 44:40
  S15: you're in right now where it's like this, this area
• 44:43
  S15: harder to trust. And the honest truth is, God does
• 44:46
  S15: allow us to endure suffering. God does allow us to
• 44:49
  S15: endure delays, but our trust is forged in the places
• 44:53
  S15: of need. And so that's why I think it comes easy.
• 44:56
  S15: It's so nuanced. It's easy in one area for some
• 44:59
  S15: and not so much in another. And so the whole
• 45:01
  S15: point of the book is to build resilient trust, to
• 45:04
  S15: show that you are literally your best self. When you're
• 45:06
  S15: walking in the spirit, your truest identity is when you're
• 45:10
  S15: walking in the brilliance of walking in the spirit. And
• 45:12
  S15: I know I've walked with you long enough to know,
• 45:15
  S15: I know you know this. Like when you are really
• 45:17
  S15: abiding in the vine, when you're keeping your heart pure
• 45:19
  S15: before God, you're walking in the spirit. You're your most
• 45:22
  S15: brilliant self. Like you'll pray for people and you'll say
• 45:25
  S15: things like, where did that come from? Or you're, you're
• 45:27
  S15: giving encouragement to someone and you'll have wisdom that you're like,
• 45:31
  S15: that wasn't me, you know, and that is walking in
• 45:34
  S15: the spirit. And I would say they're one and the
• 45:36
  S15: same as you walk in the spirit, trust not only
• 45:39
  S15: becomes natural, but supernatural. And it's why it's so important
• 45:42
  S15: to make this a daily practice.
• 45:44
  S2: You know, because many people, you talked about being honest,
• 45:47
  S2: like there's where there's disappointment, where people feel like, God, I,
• 45:51
  S2: I trusted you and I still went through this really
• 45:55
  S2: painful thing and I'm not quite haven't quite recovered from that. And,
• 46:00
  S2: and there's there's hurt and there's pain and there's trauma,
• 46:03
  S2: all of which you have experienced. How has this looked
• 46:07
  S2: in your own life? I know we've we've gotten pieces
• 46:09
  S2: of your story before, but where have you found it
• 46:12
  S2: hardest to trust God because of the pain?
• 46:16
  S15: Yeah, such a great question. Well, you know, the obvious
• 46:19
  S15: one is my health, you know, and also there's just
• 46:22
  S15: been some things and some private struggles that, like you,
• 46:25
  S15: I'm not ready to disclose yet, but are extremely painful
• 46:29
  S15: parts of my story. And but in those places, I'm
• 46:33
  S15: reminding myself I serve the God of the breakthrough. And
• 46:37
  S15: my faith in the land of the living, you know,
• 46:39
  S15: is where it really counts. Because one day my faith
• 46:41
  S15: will become sight. And one of the things I illustrate
• 46:44
  S15: in the book, so every chapter has a modern day
• 46:46
  S15: story of, of hardships and messes and traumas where friends
• 46:51
  S15: have decided to involve God in their story. And then
• 46:53
  S15: what happened when they trust him. And then each chapter
• 46:56
  S15: also involves a parallel biblical story. So I'm just like
• 46:59
  S15: helping you to build resilient trust. But one of the
• 47:01
  S15: stories I tell is a full circle moment. And how
• 47:05
  S15: God does this, he, without us even realizing it, he'll
• 47:08
  S15: bring us to full circle moments where, like Peter, back
• 47:11
  S15: to the charcoal fire, it's Peter in that place where
• 47:14
  S15: he denied Jesus around a charcoal fire. Those were very
• 47:18
  S15: common back then. And, you know, I'm super interested in
• 47:21
  S15: brain science, physiology, how fearfully and wonderfully made we are.
• 47:25
  S15: And the idea is that there were lots of charcoal
• 47:29
  S15: fires back then. You know, that what every time Peter
• 47:32
  S15: got around a charcoal fire and that smoke went into
• 47:35
  S15: his nose, it served a physiological, traumatic reaction for him.
• 47:39
  S15: The worst day of his life. Yeah. I denied my Savior,
• 47:42
  S15: my Messiah, the one that I was ready to go
• 47:44
  S15: to the cross for. I denied him. And you know,
• 47:47
  S15: the enemy wasted no time accusing and condemning him. You
• 47:51
  S15: can only imagine what. For someone as passionate as Peter,
• 47:55
  S15: what that must have been like in that time in between.
• 47:57
  S15: But when Jesus resurrected from the grave and he invited
• 48:01
  S15: the guys to around a charcoal fire. I mean, I
• 48:04
  S15: picture Peter going, it's him! Like jumping out of the boat,
• 48:07
  S15: tearing off his clothes, trying to get to the water
• 48:09
  S15: because that's who him. Who he is. And isn't it
• 48:12
  S15: something that's three times Jesus asked him, do you love me, Peter?
• 48:15
  S15: It wasn't to condemn him. It wasn't to remind him
• 48:17
  S15: of his failure. It was to recommission him. It's like
• 48:21
  S15: he had to reframe the charcoal fire experience. And I
• 48:24
  S15: want to say to you, if you're in the middle
• 48:26
  S15: of the mess that God right now is writing your
• 48:29
  S15: story in a way that as you trust him, you
• 48:32
  S15: will experience a full circle moment. I don't know what
• 48:35
  S15: it's going to look like, but God loves those kinds
• 48:38
  S15: of details. And I write about one in the book
• 48:40
  S15: about me having a full circle moment with my health
• 48:42
  S15: that literally buckled my knees right out from underneath me.
• 48:46
  S2: And Susie, I don't want to let you go. Before
• 48:48
  S2: we get a couple practical strategies for the person your
• 48:51
  S2: words always resonate so deeply with those who are. Particularly
• 48:54
  S2: those who are dealing with pain and suffering. What are
• 48:57
  S2: the practical strategies? Maybe 1 or 2 that can help
• 49:00
  S2: somebody today who wants so desperately to trust God more,
• 49:03
  S2: but they're just not there yet.
• 49:05
  S15: I can't remember if I've talked about this on a
• 49:07
  S15: previous show, but another one of the stories in the
• 49:09
  S15: book I talk about where one of the girls, a
• 49:12
  S15: friend of mine, walking through incredible hardship. First she was
• 49:15
  S15: knocked over by it, but then she rose up because
• 49:17
  S15: she's a fighter, she's a warrior. And she formed something
• 49:20
  S15: she calls a battle box. And that's what I want
• 49:22
  S15: to tell you to do is get a battle box.
• 49:25
  S15: And that can look like a little plastic container with
• 49:27
  S15: recipe cards in it. And every time you find a verse,
• 49:31
  S15: which means if you're in a trial, immerse yourself in scripture.
• 49:34
  S15: Don't run and numb and medicate your pain. Run to
• 49:37
  S15: the Lord. Open up the word. Say I'm not leaving
• 49:39
  S15: till you speak to me. And when the verses pop
• 49:42
  S15: off the page. Or when God gives you like a
• 49:44
  S15: faith declaration, write it on the recipe card and form
• 49:47
  S15: your battle box. And your strategy then is to open
• 49:50
  S15: that thing up every day and walk around your living
• 49:53
  S15: room if you have to. Holding those cards, let your
• 49:55
  S15: ears hear your mouth say, My God is faithful. He
• 49:58
  S15: will make a way for me, I. My battle box
• 50:00
  S15: has both Scripture and some faith declarations that I catch
• 50:03
  S15: myself saying a lot that literally not only builds muscle memory,
• 50:07
  S15: but faith comes from hearing. So when your ears hear
• 50:10
  S15: your mouth say, My God is good, his promises are true,
• 50:13
  S15: and he will make a way for me. Something changes
• 50:17
  S15: for you and you'll know it. So that to me
• 50:19
  S15: is get a battle box. But I would also say
• 50:21
  S15: include some friends, some God fearing, fiery, praying friends in
• 50:26
  S15: on whatever you're walking through and say, can we hop
• 50:28
  S15: on a phone call even 20 minutes once a week?
• 50:31
  S15: And let's be honest with each other about our struggles,
• 50:34
  S15: and let's go to the throne room and encourage each
• 50:36
  S15: other and seek God. I'm telling you, as you do
• 50:39
  S15: this in community and as you own your faith and
• 50:41
  S15: upgrade the way that you show up in your battle,
• 50:44
  S15: those things will make a massive difference for you.
• 50:46
  S2: Susie Larson, our guest. Always such a treat. The book
• 50:49
  S2: is called More Than You Can Imagine what God does
• 50:51
  S2: when you trust him more. Text goodness to 805 557898.
• 50:57
  S2: We'll get you connected with Susie the book. More resources.
• 51:00
  S2: Just text goodness to 805 557898.
• 51:05
  S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
• 51:10
  S1: Super Dai is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
• 51:14
  S1: on Moody Radio making herself laugh no matter who joins her.
• 51:18
  S1: It's time for Ali thinks it's funny.
• 51:23
  S2: Some of you have already started texting to get the jokes.
• 51:27
  S3: You got to wait.
• 51:28
  S2: Don't get them until you hear them.
• 51:30
  S3: Well, it's not funny because if you it's like, uh,
• 51:32
  S3: it's like looking up the end of a movie before
• 51:34
  S3: you watch the end of a movie. Like you're gonna
• 51:36
  S3: know what's coming. You're not gonna like it.
• 51:38
  S2: Just, uh, enjoy. Let's enjoy them together first, shall we? Yes. So, um,
• 51:44
  S2: you got a favorite aunt in your life? I hope
• 51:47
  S2: you do. Because aunts, aunts or aren't you say aunt
• 51:51
  S2: or aunt?
• 51:51
  S3: I say.
• 51:51
  S2: Aren't you say aunt. Okay. I, I think I have
• 51:54
  S2: a mix, I have some aunts who are aunt and
• 51:56
  S2: I have some aunts who are aunt.
• 51:57
  S3: Sure, it all goes off preference.
• 51:59
  S2: What do you call your aunt or your aunt who
• 52:02
  S2: just turned 100 years old?
• 52:05
  S3: Oh, jeez, I don't know.
• 52:06
  S2: Maybe Great Aunt Betty or Aunt Sue just turned 100
• 52:11
  S2: years old. So she's got a new nickname. You do
• 52:13
  S2: have a great aunt.
• 52:14
  S3: I have a great Aunt Betty.
• 52:15
  S2: Okay, well, don't actually call her this, I won't. Your
• 52:18
  S2: great aunt who just turned 100 years old. Antique, don't.
• 52:25
  S3: Yeah, won't be doing that.
• 52:26
  S2: Don't call her that. Don't call her that. All in
• 52:29
  S2: good fun, folks. All in good fun. Next up, back
• 52:33
  S2: to the farm. The place where many, so many good
• 52:36
  S2: jokes originate. What do you call a short cow? A
• 52:41
  S2: cow who's a little vertically challenged, not as tall as
• 52:44
  S2: the rest of the cows in the pasture. I don't know.
• 52:47
  S2: Hasn't hit his growth spurt yet. What do you call
• 52:52
  S2: a short cow? Condensed milk.
• 52:59
  S16: Old MacDonald had a farm. EIEIO.
• 53:03
  S2: Tex jokes to 800 555, 78, 98. Tex jokes to
• 53:11
  S2: 805 5578, 98. For some reason, thinking of a cow
• 53:15
  S2: waiting for a growth spurt is absolutely hilarious.
• 53:18
  S3: Just a little tiny cow with short legs.
• 53:20
  S2: I mean, maybe because I have a 14 year old
• 53:22
  S2: boy who's there who talks a lot about waiting for
• 53:25
  S2: his growth spurt. So that's certainly something that boys.
• 53:29
  S3: What else is he. He's like, taller than me. What's
• 53:31
  S3: he waiting for?
• 53:31
  S2: He's waiting for his big growth spurt.
• 53:33
  S3: There's another one coming. I'm waiting for mine, too.
• 53:37
  S2: Aren't we all? Tex jokes to 805 five, five, 78,
• 53:42
  S2: 98 jokes to 800 555, 78, 98.